Waiting For the End
by Jade Sayre
Summary: Seph hated her life. An outcast at school, a prisoner at home. Being the only daughter of Poseidon didn't help her out any, nor the horny gods that were chasing after her. And don't even get her started on the hot blond Son of Hermes. Book 1 in the Daughter of Poseidon series. Fem!Percy.
1. The Daughter of Poseidon

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series or any songs, names, or places that belong to anyone else.

AN: Hello, everyone. Some of you may know me from my Transformers or Twilight/Vampire Diaries stories. Some of you may not know me at all. Either way I hope everyone likes this.

Title: Waiting For the End

Main Pairings: Percy/Apollo, Percy/Hermes, Percy/Ares, Percy/Dionysus, Percy/Hephaestus, Percy/Luke

Other Pairings: Silena/Beckendorf, Annabeth/?, Grover/Juniper, Clarisse/Chris, Zeus/Hera, Poseidon/Athena, Thalia/Nico, Hades/Persephone

Warnings: Language, violence, sexual themes. Set in pre-Lightening Thief all the way to my versions of the Heroes of Olympus, some Hera and Aphrodite and stereotype bashing. Fem! Percy. Powerful! Percy. Demi-titan! Sally.  
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**_**Chapter 1: The Daughter of Poseidon**_

Once upon a time, there was a little alarm clock. It was not a special alarm clock, not at all. It was plain black with red numbers and a fairly loud alarm. It was a young alarm clock. It was an innocent alarm clock. It was-

_SMASH!_

It was a dead alarm clock.

A hand slowly slithered back under the warm covers for refuge. Why did she have to get up today? Oh yeah, the eighth grade class field trip. Damn it, she was out of fake doctor's notes, too. If only she hadn't used the 'female problems' note to cut gym last Tuesday. A mop of black hair popped out from the covers, eyes closed with a little bit of sleep crust in the corners.

Seph Jackson sat up on her bed, the blue comforter pooling at her waist as she stretched her arms above her head, sighing when the resounding crack reached her ears. Damn if that didn't feel good. She actually felt like going back to sleep . . .

A knock sounded at her door and Seph groaned as she tiredly stumbled over to see who the hell was bothering her at seven in the morning. She opened up the door to reveal the dorm advisor, Melissa something, and grumpily asked, "What do you want?"

The redhead ignored the younger girl's tone and gave her a smile that was way too happy for someone to use at the current time. "I'm reminding all of the eighth graders that the bus for your field trip leaves at seven-thirty. Have fun!"

Seph just stared at her until the redhead left.

"Note to self: find out what she smokes," she mumbled, stepping back as she shut the door.

The fourteen-year old let out a yawn as she shuffled over to her bathroom, thankful that Yancy Academy provided students with their own personal bathrooms. Not having a roommate to share with was a plus as well, Seph guessed as she started stripping down. Yancy Academy was a school for quote 'Special Needs Children', but anyone with half a brain knew that it was a school for troublemakers. Sure there were some kids that had actual problems, she herself having dyslexia and ADHD, but most were just spoiled kids who were sent there by their rich parents in hopes of straightening them out.

Seph was quick in her shower, almost falling asleep again as the hot water coursed over her. Her morning shower was just something you didn't mess with. It could make her feel better than any form of chocolate out there. A few minutes later she was brushing her hair, wincing when she would snag a small tangle every now and again.

She strolled out of the bathroom and went to the dresser to pick out her clothes. After a few seconds of consideration, she decided on her black Jack Skellington shirt and a pair of black jeans.

Having deemed herself complete the fourteen-year old girl pulled on her steel-toed boots, picked up her Black Sabbath backpack and high-tailed it out the door. Damn, she really didn't want to go on the stupid field trip. To be perfectly honest she'd rather take a detention then go, but that would mean leaving Grover to fend for himself.

In case you didn't know, Grover was her best and only friend at Yancy Academy. There would boys that she would go visit in the other dorms, but they weren't friends. That was strictly professional. No she wasn't a drug dealer. Fun and happy stuff, like games and candy, were banned at Yancy Academy. It would interfere with their 'becoming outstanding citizens of the community' and would distract them from learning. That didn't stop Seph, though. She made a good business off the rich kids.

Seph made it to the bus with five minutes to spare. Her piercing sea green eyes scammed the crowd, trying to spot her friend. One of the students moved a little and she saw a familiar mop of dark brown hair. "Grover!"

The boy jumped at the sudden call of his name. Grover Underwood was a short boy for his age, but he was one of the only ones with stubble and hair on his arms. Sadly though, he was crippled and had a voice that cracked when he talked, making most think of him as an easy target. Many at Yancy Academy found it hard to believe that he was friends with Seph. Grover was shy and timid, but he had somehow wormed his way into the Ice Queen's heart.

Seph came up to stand in front of her friend. Grover gave her a nervous smile.

"Hey, Seph," he said.

The taller teen gave him a nod and after a couple of seconds, a small smile. She had only known Grover for a few months, but he was like a little brother to her. He was the first person (besides her mother) to look past her tough persona. The two chatted as they waited for their turn to board the bus. Seph climbed the steps and saw that her history teacher, Mr. Brunner, was sitting off to the side in his wheelchair.

"Hello, Seph," he greeted her in a friendly tone. "How are you this morning?"

If it were any other teacher, Seph would say she would rather drink battery acid than to be there, but she respected Mr. Brunner. He was the first teacher she had ever liked and she wasn't about to upset him after all the strings he pulled to get the field trip for them.

"It's nice, Mr. Brunner," she replied politely. He gave her a smile before going back to the book he had been reading. Seph and Grover took an empty bench about half-way down the bus. They continued with their conversation comfortably, at least until Seph saw a blond board the bus.

"Shit," she groaned, not caring if the goody two-shoes heard her. She had been hoping the other girl would be on another other bus, but the world didn't seem to be in tune with her wants.

The girl coming their way was Ashley York, the daughter of a whiplash attorney. Ashley was the queen of Yancy Academy, with her dyed platinum-blond hair, her lightly tanned skin, and her ice blue eyes. Ever since the two girls had met, the petite blonde hated Seph. It was an understatement saying that the feeling was mutual.

But what Seph found ironic was how Ashley had gotten into Yancy Academy. Despite being born with a silver spoon in her mouth, little Ashley thought it would be fun to steal a three-hundred dollar jacket at Saks. Needless to say, she got busted. From what Seph had heard, the blonde had been given two choices: Yancy Academy or juvie.

_'But of course she couldn't have gone to juvie,'_ A voice in Seph's mind snarked. _'After all, the butch girls there would just love to break her pretty little face.'_

The blonde girl paused in front of them and smiled, showing off her perfectly bleached teeth.

"Hey, Jackson," Ashley smiled, but it looked more like a sneer. "I'm surprised they let you come. You're usually wasting away in detention."

"Yeah I'm here," Seph replied coolly. "You can move along now, preppy bitch."

Ashley's face flushed in anger, vaguely reminding Seph of a tomato. Grover looked between the two girls nervously. He really didn't want to see the cat fight that was sure to break out if Ashley didn't move along. The rich girl opened her mouth to spit out a retort, but one of the kids waiting behind her shoved her so she would move. The blonde scowled, knowing for the moment that she had lost before taking an empty seat a couple rows behind them. After everyone settled down, the bus pulled away from the school.

It was about a twelve minute drive to the museum and Ashley York had come up with the perfect revenge during this time, gossiping loudly to one of her friends. She talked about almost everything Seph loathed and despised; fashion, boys, and Britney Spears.

"We can make it look like an accident," Seph tried to reason with Grover. "We'll wear gloves so no one knows it was us."

"What do you mean by 'us'? You're the one who would snap her neck."

"But you'd help me hide her body in the baseball field," Seph stated. "I'll kill her. You'll get to clean up the crime scene."

"Why do I get stuck with the dirty work?" Grover grumbled. "I don't exactly like her either . . ."

Seph hummed in agreement as Ashley gabbed about a boy who had asked her out last week.

"I can_ so_ see Steven as boy-toy material," Ashley's friend was listening intently, as if the world would end if she missed anything.

Seph felt her hand itch to grab the knife she kept hidden in her boot just so she could end this torture.

"Just a few more minutes," Grover whispered to her. Seph looked torn, but eventually let go of the handle with a sigh.

"Fine. But if she starts talking about Justin Bieber, make sure my cellmate isn't too grabby."

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Seph couldn't say she found the tour very interesting. The only reason she paid the slightest attention was because Mr. Brunner was the guide. They went through several different galleries from different civilizations. The Egyptian hieroglyphics had caught her eye, but they didn't stay in that section for too long.

They went through pottery and large statues and a bathroom where Seph was positive a couple was engaging in sex. She gave the door a revolted grimace, wondering who in hell thought it would be fun to screw in a _museum_.

Mr. Brunner stopped in front of a stone column known as a stele. He went on explaining how a stele was a term for a grave marker, and a few students actually looked interested in what he was saying. Seph, on the other hand, was barely listening. She knew what a stele was. She knew what most of the things in the Greek and Roman section were and what the pictures represented. Subjects like math and reading may have caused her problems, but history and science was like a picnic for her. Getting to know how to blow things up fit her psychopathic personality (as Grover so affectionately called it) and she had always had a knack for dates.

She rolled her eyes at a pair of girls who were giggling about a chubbier classmate of theirs before shooting them a glare. That gained her Mrs. Dodds attention.

Mrs. Dodds was, in Seph's ever so humble opinion, Satan's bitch. She was a math teacher from somewhere in George who always wore this black leather jacket that Seph had fallen in love with. Why a fifty-year old woman wore it though, she had no clue. Mrs. Dodds had come to their algebra 1 class almost halfway through the year, after the last teacher needed a straightjacket. So Seph may have put another student's pet boa in her desk. How was she supposed to know Barry would try to bite?

From the first day she started, Mrs. Dodds was Ashley York's slave. She treated the blonde girl like she was the best thing to walk the planet, which did nothing for the girl's ego. If Seph didn't know that Ashley had a boyfriend for each day of the week, she'd say they had a thing going on. But honestly, she would bet her bottom dollar that they were in cahoots on new ways to torture her.

One time, after she had spent a whole fucking Saturday cleaning the cafeteria after the Great Food Battle of Third Grade, she told Grover exactly what she thought about Mrs. Dodds. After he started breathing again, he got this thoughtful look on his face, and said, "You're about half-right."

Mr. Brunner continued his speech.

After finally having enough of Ashley's bragging over hooking up with Nathan Lox from eleventh grade, Seph turned around and growled, "Will you just _shut the fuck up_ already?"

She was a bit louder than intended.

Everyone fell silent, the first time that whole day. Mr. Brunner paused mid-sentence and looked at her.

"Did you want to say something, Miss Jackson?"

Seph kept her eyes on him, refusing to show any signs of being embarrassed. She said, "I don't, Mr. Brunner."

The older man didn't look away as he nodded towards a picture on the stele. "Would you care to tell us what this picture means?"

She looked to where he nodded and immediately recognized. "That's Kronos eating his children."

"Correct," Mr. Brunner laid his hands in his lap. "And why did he do this?"

"Kronos was the Titan King, and he didn't trust his children because he feared they would overthrow him like he did to his own father. Kronos ate the oldest five, but his wife, Rhea, hid the youngest, Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. When Zeus grew up, he tricked Kronos into throwing up his brothers and sisters-"

"Gross!" one of the girls behind her gagged.

Seph rolled her eyes, and continued. "The children he ate declared vengeance and there was a war between the gods and the titans. The gods won, and the titans were given their own separate prisons or punishments."

Some of the kids were giggling behind her and one muttered, "Geek."

A quick glare from Seph shut them up.

Ashley York snorted quietly behind her. "Why do we even need to know this? It's not like we'll ever use it in life."

"That's a good question, Miss York. Care to answer, Miss Jackson?"

Seph shrugged.

"You never really know," she said. "The gods and the titans could be real. For all we know, this all could have actually happened.

Mr. Brunner examined her for a moment, as if he were looking for some answer to a riddle before nodding his head in acceptance. "Very thoughtful, Miss Jackson. Full credit."

The wheelchair-bound man explained how Zeus rescued his siblings, making most of the girls cringe before announcing it was time for lunch.

The class split into their little cliques; all the girls, minus Seph, looking like they were going to hurl if they heard one more word come out of Mr. Brunner's mouth, and the boys were goofing off by trying to imitate the story, hurling sound effects and all. Grover and Seph were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Miss Jackson."

Seph didn't know what he wanted, she had gotten his questions right, but she told Grover to go on ahead. She turned around to face Mr. Brunner. "Yes, Mr. Brunner?"

Mr. Brunner had a curious look in his brown eyes, once again looking at her as if she were a problem to figure out.

"How did you come up with an answer to my question?" he finally asked.

Seph did a nonchalant one-shoulder shrug. "My mom always told me to be open-minded. I honestly think there could be gods and titans and other mythical creatures out there," trying to lighten the serious look from his eyes, she joked, "I just hope the vampires aren't like Twilight's."

It worked. Mr. Brunner's eyes were sparkling with amusement. "I shall agree with you on that, Miss Jackson. I have never been fond of that particular series."

He shooed her off so she could go eat with Grover.

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Seph looked up at the sky. It was dark and bleak, with clouds almost as black as her hair. Gray lining peeked through to separate the clouds. It looked cool, Seph decided. She had always had a liking for the darker beauty in life. Storms were her favorite. She wished she'd brought her camera with her, she mused, watching the clouds swirl. But even if she missed this shot, she knew that there would be more. They'd been having the weirdest weather in New York history since Christmas. She honestly wouldn't have been surprised if it wasn't a hurricane starting to blow in.

Nobody else was paying attention to the weather. Most of the guys were talking about every teen boy's favorite things; sports and boobs. Ashley York was making out with some guy from another school that was also there on a field trip, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds had a blind eye. Seph let out a snort when she saw a pigeon drop one on the unsuspecting Ashley's shoes. The blond didn't seem to notice. Having a hand up your shirt did that to you, she guessed.

Seph and Grover sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. In the time that Grover had gotten to know Seph Jackson, he realized that she liked her privacy. She didn't like big gossipy groups that would sooner turn on you than a starving man seeing you with the last slice of pizza.

"So what did Mr. Brunner want? Did he give you detention?" Grover asked as they spread out their lunch. His nose twitched a little when he caught the scent of her homemade blue cookies. Maybe he could sneak one past her . . .

"He just wanted to know how I answered his question," Seph said, cracking her knuckles.

"Ah," Grover hummed. "So I have to tell the fifth grade to hold off on their food war, huh? They'll be disappointed."

Seph laughed, a rarity for those who didn't really know her, and even then it was hard to catch her making the sound. Grover smiled when she started laughing, but a full-blown grin came forth when she also gave him a couple of cookies. She really was a good friend.

The fourteen-year old girl leaned back, letting her fingers skim across the water in the fountain. Her thoughts quickly drifted to her mother, something that happened often when she was bored. She wondered if she couldn't slip away for a moment, knowing she could pop in and give her mom a quick hug before coming back with maybe a couple minutes to spare. She missed her mom, having not seen her since Christmas.

She knew her mom would be more than happy to see her, but that she'd reprimand her for sneaking away. After that it would be back to Yancy after a quick hug and kiss and a reminder that Algebra wasn't as hard as it seemed. She would argue that she did try hard as her mother would giggle and hail down a cab.

Seph glanced over at Mr. Brunner, noticing how he had basically turned himself into a café table with the umbrella hovering over him and with the book he was reading. She felt amused when she saw that he was reading the first _Hunger Games_ book.

"That's what I'm getting with the money I've saved up," Seph proclaimed to Grover, eyeing the wheelchair. "Get it a nice sized engine, and we can chase Ashley around campus while we eat candy and drink Monsters."

Grover shook his head disbelievingly. Seph knew that he agreed with the idea. "You are horrible."

Seph grinned maniacally as she poked her school provided lunch. Grover snorted.

"Why do you always do that?" he asked.

Seph gave him a look.

"Grover, you and I both know that the lunch ladies put alien pods in some of the meals," she stated. "I _have_ to poke it. To make sure it won't attack."

Grover rolled his eyes and took a bite out of his cookie, only to choke on it when Ashley York popped up out of nowhere. She had a bottle-blond friend on either side of and they laughed when she spilled her half-empty water bottle in Grover's lap.

"Oopsies." She batted her caked eyes at Seph. Her friends giggled behind her, but to Seph it sounded more like pigs squealing.

The brunette's hands clenched, trying not to punch the blonde's face in. Her anger management counselor would give her the bullshit, "Control your temper. Don't let it control you." Gimmick a million times. But this time it wasn't going to work. Fire filled her veins and she saw red.

Sadly, she couldn't remember touching the blonde, but there she was with her ass in the fountain. Ashley was screaming bloody murder, raving about how her new designer top was ruined. Mrs. Dodds was next to them in a flash.

"What is going on here, girls?"

The blonde glared at Seph, her hair damp, her clothes ruined, and her mascara running down her face. She pointed a manicured finger. "Persephone pushed me!"

Seph didn't care that there was a teacher present. She was more than ready to climb in that fountain and knock Ashley out. She absolutely _hated_ when people used her full name. But she didn't get the chance to. Mrs. Dodds coddled Ashley, saying how she would make sure that Seph would pay for the dry cleaning and that she would be duly punished, etc. Then she turned to Seph. There was an odd emotion in the old woman's eyes, something that Seph would label as victorious.

"Honey," Mrs. Dodds started.

"Yeah, yeah," Seph sighed, already feeling a headache coming on. "I have to clean up the school cafeteria for a month."

It was out of her mouth for a second before she realized it was a mistake.

"Follow me, honey," Mrs. Dodds said. Her tone was sweet, but Seph could sense the malice behind it.

"No!" Grover squeaked. "Seph didn't do anything. I was the one who pushed her."

Seph stared at him with slightly wide eyes. She couldn't believe he was trying to cover for her. Despite how he would reluctantly join in with bashing the woman, Mrs. Dodds scared the hell out of Grover.

Mrs. Dodds gave him a sharp glare, making him flinch back at the evil look.

"Mr. Underwood, I have a hard time believing that," she said.

"But I-"

"_Stay here_, or else."

Grover looked at Seph with wide afraid eyes. She was pretty sure she could see his knees trembling from the couple of feet she stood away from him.

"I'll be okay, Gro," she assured him. "At least you tried, dude."

"Honey," Mrs. Dodds simpered. "_Come here_."

Ashley York smirked, making her look like an evil demented clown.

Seph's glare was fierce enough to make the other girl flinch back. The raven smirked lazily before turning back to Mrs. Dodds, only to find that she wasn't there. She was tapping her foot at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at Seph to hurry it up. The teen blinked. How the hell did she get up there so fast?

Damn it, she hated when moments like that happened. Those few critical seconds that she would lose when she wasn't paying attention, or when she got too angry to see straight. Her counselor had told her it was a part of how the ADHD affected her brain. She wasn't so sure about that. Ms. Keaton was a too bit fruity in her mind. The woman acted as if she were dealing with a naive three-year old, not a teenage girl with ADHD and dyslexia.

She strolled up the steps to Mrs. Dodds.

Halfway up the steps, Seph got a chill. She glanced over her shoulder at Grover. He looked too pale for her liking, his shooting eyes between her and Mr. Brunner, like he was praying for Mr. Brunner to notice the two females.

She looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had vanished. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.

_'Fuck,'_ Seph thought. _'She's going to make me buy a new shirt for that bitch. There goes my new combat boots.'_

Oh how wrong she was.

Seph was led further and further into the museum. By the time she caught up with the math teacher (how the hell did a little old lady walk so fast?), they were back in the Greek and Roman section. The teen couldn't help but notice the lack of people.

Mrs. Dodds was standing in front of a marble frieze of the Greek gods, her lip curled and a growl in her throat. All that was missing was the flashlight under her chin so shadows would cast over her face. Even without it, Seph was annoyed. The whole intimidation tactic the old woman tried using was weak in her mind. She had seen plenty of things that were scarier than Mrs. Dodds. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, the Human Centipede, Gabe without a shirt on. That last one was scary as hell.

"You've been a naughty little girl, honey," Mrs. Dodds said.

Seph raised an eyebrow. _Naughty little girl_? When had she fallen into a bad porno flick? She kept silent.

Mrs. Dodds crossed her arms across her saggy chest. "How did you manage to do it?"

Her eyes were glowing with a malevolent fire, but Seph wasn't afraid. If the teacher tried anything, she'd knock her out before she could say dentures. She didn't care if it did get her booted out of school.

"Do what?" she asked boredly. She would take Ashley's bitching over this stupid confrontation any time.

The floor rumbled as a loud crash of thunder rang through the gallery.

"You know what, Persephone Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. Seph felt her eye twitch. Did she mention that she absolutely _hated_ it when someone used her full name? "Just return it to me and I will make your end quick."

Seph wished she could laugh. The only thing she could think about was that the teachers must've found out about her illegal business selling video games and candy to boys at school. Or maybe they realized that she was the one to put the firecrackers in the teachers' toilets. No matter which way it went, at least it was fun while it lasted.

"Your answer?" Mrs. Dodds said ominously.

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, lady," Seph said bluntly. Screw Mrs. Dodds. She wasn't about to let this bitch try and make her feel like she was stupid.

"Then your fate has been sealed!"

The next thing Seph knew, she was looking at Jeeper's Creepers body double. While most girls and even boys would be wetting their pants and/or passing out, Seph felt like jumping up and down. She had been right! Out of every teen in America, she was the only one to get it right! Her math teacher wasn't human.

But it didn't stop at that, to her immense joy.

Mr. Brunner came wheeling in, holding a plain black velvet choker in his hand.

_'Now all we need is Mr. Arnez dressed like the Men in Black and this will be the most badass prank ever,'_ she thought giddily, almost missing Mr. Brunner's yell at her to catch the choker.

Seph blinked once and smoothly ducked Mrs. Dodds outstretched talons, snatching the choker out of the air nonchalantly. Only, it wasn't a choker anymore. As soon as it hit her hand, it had turned into a black-bladed sword with a silver hilt and a misty sea green pearl at the end. She took note that it was one of the model swords that Mr. Brunner brought on tournament day.

Mrs. Dodds spun in mid-air to face her with a killer look in her eyes.

Seph scowled back, readjusting the sword in her hands. She had never used a sword before. When she would get into street fights, she'd do hand-to-hand brawls or use her knife. If it wasn't for the feeling of total balance in her hand, she had a feeling the sword would have clattered to the floor.

Mrs. Dodds howled, "Die, honey!"

She flew at the teen.

Seph waited patiently for her to get close enough, and thrust it towards her math teacher.

The black blade pierced the teacher's chest, right where her heart would be, and the Jeeper's wannabe let out a pained shriek. Then, if Seph hadn't been surprised enough that morning, Mrs. Dodds was dissolving like a kids vitamin when it hits their tongue. She watched with immense fascination as the teacher slowly ceased to exist. Soon enough there was nothing left of Mrs. Dodds.

Seph watched the spot for a few seconds, as if not believing what just happened before slowly looking around her. There was no sign of anyone else in the gallery.

She looked down.

The badass sword was gone. The black velvet choker was in her hand.

Seph blinked a few times, trying to wonder who the hell snuck drugs into her lunch. She looked down at the choker and cautiously poked it with a free finger. It remained a choker.

Had all of the movies and video games she'd been selling finally affected her head?

She cautiously walked back outside.

It was raining full on by then, the droplets looking to be the size of a nickel.

Grover was shivering where she left him, a museum map was held above his head, but it was too soggy to provide any protection by then. Ashley York was sniveling to her friends, who coddled her as if she had just lost the Miss Universe contest, not just being pushed into a fountain. When she saw Seph, all traces of tears went away. She said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr beat your ass black and blue.

Seph was confused. "Who?"

"Our math teacher, weirdo!"

Seph blinked for what seemed the millionth time in the past fifteen minutes. She couldn't ever remember a Mrs. Kerr at Yancy Academy, not even for the other grades. She waited for Ashley to yell, 'Sike!'

The blond snorted before continuing with her friends. Normally the other team would have persisted, but she was too damned baffled to do it.

Seph walked over to Grover and asked who Mrs. Kerr was.

He bit his lip before jabbing a thumb towards the bus where a petite blond was smoking a cigarette.

He said, "You know, our math teacher?"

Seph didn't miss the hesitation. Nor did she miss the way his eyes were roaming everyone but on her face.

"I'm not joking around, Gro," she told him. "I'm being serious here."

Thunder rumbled overhead and lightning crackled ominously. Grover jumped with a whimper, his eyes slamming shut as he quaked with fear. Seph gave him a worried look.

She saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.

She went over to him.

He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, is that the necklace you said you saw earlier? Thank you for giving it to me instead of keeping it for yourself, Miss Jackson. That was very responsible of you. I'll make sure it gets to the museum's lost and found box."

Seph had no idea what to say, she just handed it over. She actually hadn't realized she'd still been holding it.

"Mr. Brunner," she said warily. "Who's the blonde woman by the bus?"

He turned his head toward where she said. When he looked back to her, his eyebrows were furrowed in concern. "That's Mrs. Kerr, your math teacher."

"What about Mrs. Dodds?" she tried tripping him up. Even as she said it, she had a gut feeling that he wasn't going to say something she liked.

Mr. Brunner looked highly worried by then. "Seph, we do not have a Mrs. Dodds on our trip. I actually cannot recollect ever meeting a Mrs. Dodds. Are you alright, my dear?"

Seph watched him closely. She did not see any signs of faltering or any hints of him trying to trick her.

"Yeah," she whispered dazedly. "My mistake."

More lightning zipped across the sky.

She went to board the bus.

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AN: Here's chapter one! I know I stuck pretty close to the original book, but it's a bit hard not to when it's the beginning. This is by far the longest chapter I have ever written so far, and I am so sorry if there are any grammar problems.

Review and tell me how you liked it!


	2. Wake Me Up When September Ends

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series or any songs, names, or places that belong to anyone else.

AN: Thank you for the 10 reviews, 33 favorites, and 38 follows :)

Here's the next chapter.

Title: Waiting For the End

Main Pairings: Percy/Apollo, Percy/Hermes, Percy/Ares, Percy/Dionysus, Percy/Hephaestus, Percy/Luke

Other Pairings: Silena/Beckendorf, Annabeth/?, Grover/Juniper, Clarisse/Chris, Zeus/Hera, Poseidon/Sally, Hades/Persephone

Warnings: Language, violence, sexual themes. Set in pre-Lightening Thief all the way to my versions of the Heroes of Olympus, some Hera and Aphrodite bashing. Fem! Percy. Powerful! Percy. Demi-titan! Sally.  
**  
**_**Chapter 2:**__** Wake Me Up When September Ends**_

Seph would be lying if she said she wasn't used to odd events. She had a whole fourteen going on fifteen years' worth of stories. But this ongoing fantasy she was experiencing was really starting to piss her off. What made it worse was that the other students seemed to be reading her mind and playing on that fantasy. All of them weren't budging on Mrs. Kerr- a way too perky for normal blond woman who seemingly recycled Mrs. Dodds hatred for Seph- being their Algebra 1 teacher since Christmas. Seph honestly thought the woman was on drugs. Nobody could be that happy all the time.

And just to see if she couldn't break someone, Seph would stare at some of her mousier classmates with wide eyes when she'd ask about Mrs. Dodds. All that came out of that was the other kids having nervous breakdowns and Seph getting enough detention to last until college.

After her latest detention, Seph had started wondering if Mrs. Dodds really wasn't a part of her imagination.

There was just one problem.

Grover Underwood had to be the worst liar Seph had ever met. His knees would shake like a maraca, his hands would twist together, and he would count every single floor tile in the room before he'd look her in the face. It made her slightly angry that even her best friend would lie to her, but she figured Grover must have his reasons. The older students could be bullying him into lying.

But Seph hardly had time to think about him though, her orders having increased due to a kid's upcoming birthday. She had to order eleven games, three boxes of some fancy cookies from France, and a single box of the best champagne chocolates in New York. Normally that wasn't a problem, but they wanted her to plan the whole damn party in only a week. She would have flat out refused if it wasn't for the large sum of money they had offered her.

That was how she spent her days. Her nights were worse. They were filled with nightmares. Nightmares that surrounded the apartment she'd soon have to go back to. The man she'd have to go back to. There were some nights that she'd wake up, gasping for air as she remembered what he had nearly done to her the last summer she'd been home.

Meanwhile the odd weather raged on. Seph didn't mind the gloomy weather at all, at least until a particularly bad thunderstorm busted her windows to the point of nearly breaking. Of course no one believed her when she said she hadn't done it.

Seph noticed that she had started feeling more irritable than she usually did. The slightest things made her snap quite viciously at whoever was close by. Just last week she had made Molly Andrews go crying to the dean. That had earned her quite the long detention. And the week before that she had gotten into a fight with one of Ashley York's friends after a backhanded comment about her fashion sense. The girl had been sent to the nurse's office after Seph broke her fancy new nose job.

Then something a few days after Ashley's friend happened. She had been in English class, a migraine pounding away at her skull from the reading prompt they just did, when Mr. Nicholl started to ask her (right in front of the class mind you) why she wasn't smart enough to follow along. She had slammed her hands on her desk as she stood up, and told him to go fuck himself.

But the final thing that made her snap was when she went to one of her frequently increased sessions with her counselor, Ms. Keaton.

Ms. Keaton was a divorced woman in her mid-thirties with a couple of kids Seph's age. She was slim and trim with the typical rich-woman look: nicely-groomed blond hair, makeup-enhanced blue eyes, and a white smile encased with harlot red lipstick. She was from the bayous in New Orleans, and had a thick accent to go along with it. In Seph's personal opinion, she was the epitome of a stereotypical dumb blond.

Seph had been with the woman almost immediately since she transferred to Yancy Academy, and hadn't been able to get rid of her since. She couldn't stand Ms. Keaton and her stupid ideas on how her mind worked. The girl had a feeling that the only reason the blond got the job was because she was messing around with the dean.

Either way, it had started off as a normal session. Ms. Keaton did the lame-brained '_how are you feeling today?_' and _'have you been having trouble controlling your temper lately?'_ and even _'let's try a few breathing exercises'._ Seph didn't know how much more she could take. Then she finally snapped after one particular session.

_"Persephone, I want to ask you a few questions," Ms. Keaton said. Seph resisted the urge to curl her lip at the woman. She knew about her issues when it came to her full name._

_"Fine," she barely got out between gritted teeth. "Ask away."_

_Ms. Keaton crossed her legs in her short blue skirt. She picked up her note pad and clicked her pen so she could write._

_"I've heard that you've been having problems lately in classes," she started. "Would you care to talk about it?"_

_'No, you nosy bitch.' she wanted to snap. Instead, she said, "I'm just a little tired is all."_

_Ms. Keaton hummed as she jotted down her response. "I also heard that you were hallucinating about a teacher named Mrs. Dodds a few weeks ago. What was that about?"_

_"I was not hallucinating," Seph tried to stay calm. "It must have been some dreams I was having." Miss Blondie-Blonde would be stupid enough to believe that._

_More scribbling. "I have also received some reports from a few hall monitors that you have been sneaking into the boys dorms lately. You know that is against school rules."_

_Seph wanted to snap at her that there were girls in the school who snuck in and spent the night, unlike her, who just went in, gave the guys there games and stuff they'd ordered, then got the hell out of there. She had never stayed in there for more than a couple of hours, and even then it was just to be polite when the guys would ask her to play video games with them._

_"I go to see my friend, Grover. And that rule only applies for after curfew. I've never gone in later than five."_

_Ms. Keaton looked up at her for the first time since this whole screwed up questionnaire started._

_"Persephone, I do believe I know what is going on with you," the blond said seriously. Seph wanted to snort. Like this bitch understood a thing about her. "Your grades are dropping, you're having wild mood swings, and you're sneaking into the boys dorms. I want you to be honest with me, Persephone. I ask this as a friend, are you pregnant?"_

_Seph felt her jaw physically drop. Did she just ask what she thought she'd asked?_

_Ms. Keaton continued on, an understanding and sympathetic look on her face. "I remember what it was like being your age, Persephone. I remember how boys started noticing me because I was more developed than other girls my age. And I'll admit that I acted on a few of my teenaged hormones, but I always made sure to always use protection-"_

_Seph let the blonde ramble on, barely registering what she was saying. She thought she was pregnant. This dumb bitch thought that _she_ was pregnant? Oh no. Oh hell no!_

_"-and we will need to inform your mother as soon as possible," Ms. Keaton kept going, not knowing that her patient was about to explode. "I will say this now, Persephone. If I were you, I wouldn't be too surprised if she abandoned you. She won't want to raise her fourteen-year old daughter's child. But then again, she did have you young, didn't she?"_

_Alright, that was it. Seph stood up so fast her chair flipped back onto the floor with a loud 'thud'. The angry teenager leaned over the desk and got right in the blonde's face._

_"Let's get something straight, you dumb bitch," she hissed between her teeth. "We are __**nothing** alike. You may have been a whore when you were my age, but I haven't spread my legs for no one and I have no plans to any time soon. Secondly, you do not talk about my mother. You try pulling that shit again, you're going to get your silicone ass kicked to hell and back, ya understand?"_

_She didn't wait for an answer and instead walked to the door. When she turned around to look back, she saw that Ms. Keaton's face was red from the roots of her platinum hair to the tops of her breasts that showed through her low-cut top. Seph gave her a broad grin._

_"Have a nice life, dumbass!"_

* * *

It was after a fierce scolding from the dean, the assistant dean, and the secretary that the call was made. It was official: Seph would not be returning to Yancy Academy the next semester. Seph said fuck it. She wanted her mom. She wanted her small apartment on the Upper East Side, and would gladly go to public school if it meant no more Ms. Keaton and Ashley York. She was even ready to take on Gabe and his drunken tirades at this point.

But even with that train of thought, she knew she would miss some things about Yancy. The kick-ass dodge ball games, the sound of little kids squeaking when they saw who they ran into, the business she made off the rich kids. She would miss Grover, too. He had his odd quirks about him but so did she. That's what made them such great friends. And even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone . . . she was going to worry about Grover. She didn't know how he was going to make it the next year without her there to beat up the people who tormented him.

She would miss science class a lot, Latin too. Mr. Arnez's crazy Albert Einstein hairdo with the demented Frankenstein's doctor laugh always made her day more interesting. Mr. Brunner's awesome tournament days would be greatly missed as well.

* * *

_'Okay question eleven. How many milligrams of a metal containing 45% nickel must be combined with 6 milligrams of pure nickel to form an-'_

"Fuck, this makes no sense!" Seph groaned in aggravation. "Whoever thought numbers should mix with letters and symbols should burn in hell."

She was going to flunk, plain and simple. She was in no way going to be able to remember all of the formulas and equations that came with Algebra. She would proudly take the F she was sure to get if only so she could say _fuck you_ in the middle of the test. It wasn't like they could do anything. She already knew she wouldn't be returning the following year.

She flopped back on her pillow, eyes staring at the plain white ceiling. She felt cold and itchy; goose bumps had begun to rise on her skin.

She thought about Mr. Brunner and his serious outlook on her school work. _You cannot just try in my class, Persephone Jackson. You need to work hard in all of your classes._

Then she thought about Mr. Arnez. _Your other classes? Meh, just stick with science. Now this is the way to make a proper stink bomb. . ._

Seph let out a groan. Mr. Brunner 1, Mr. Arnez 0.

She pulled on a pair of her combat boots and grabbed her dorm keys. She didn't want to go ask a teacher for help, it just wasn't in her nature to accept help from others, but maybe Mr. Brunner could give her some pointers on how to remember formulas. She gave her math book a loathing glare.

"I hate you, you sick bastard," she scowled, picking it up.

She exited her dorm room. Glancing around in the dark hallway, Seph made sure there were no teachers patrolling the halls before walking over to the stairwell. She went down several flights of stairs to where the teachers' quarters were.

There weren't many lights on in the hallway, but thankfully the moon was shining bright enough to let her see where she was walking. She strolled silently down the hall and peeked through the first lighted window. She barely held back the vomit that wanted to spew out.

_'Mrs. Rodney and Coach Hash? They're like eighty years old!'_

Shivering a little she continued onwards. When she came to the next highlighted door, she was thankful to see Mr. Brunner's name scrawled across the top in chipped gold lettering. She had started to reach for the door handle when she heard voices coming from the inside.

_'Is Mr. Brunner getting some too?'_ she was surprised. She couldn't imagine her prim and proper teacher doing the nasty where someone could easily walk in. All of those thoughts flew out of her mind when she heard a voice that was definitely Grover's.

". . . Seph, sir."

Her hand froze midair.

Okay she wouldn't label herself as an eavesdropper (that was the other Yancy girls job), but she would be shocked if someone didn't listen in when you heard your best friend talking about you to an adult.

She stepped closer.

"I don't want her to be alone this summer," Grover was saying. "A Kindly One attacked her in _public_. They're starting to come after her-"

"Grover, I know you care for Seph, but she doesn't need to be thrown into this," Mr. Brunner said. "If she couldn't handle this then she'll be lost forever."

"She doesn't have time, sir! The deadline-"

Seph was surprised at the anger in Grover's voice. Whatever was wrong with her, he apparently didn't like it.

"We can find a solution without her, Grover. She can enjoy her obliviousness for a while longer."

Seph silently bristled at his words, but kept quiet.

"Sir, she _saw_ her. . . ."

"She'll think it's her imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince her of that."

"Seph is stubborn, sir," Grover said. "She doesn't give up easily . . . sir, I . . . I can't fail her." Grover's was starting to choke up. "She's my best friend."

"You won't fail, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I could sense her power as soon as we met. We should have started to prepare her sooner. But we won't dwell on that right now. Now our main concern is keeping Seph alive until fall-"

She couldn't help it. Her breath hitched. Seph let out a mental curse when she didn't hear their conversation continue.

She kept her breathing even and slowly started to walk backwards. The second she saw the too tall shadow she knew that something was wrong. Quietly, she opened a nearby door before continuing to back away. She rounded the corner just as she saw an archer's bow extend from the doorway.

Right after she had rounded a corner, she heard the sound of an arrow being let loose and a split second later she saw it firmly planted in the corkboard a few feet away from her. She heard an odd sound, like a large animal sniffing before she heard a door being thrown open. Seph slowly reached down towards her right boot, letting her fingers graze the black handle of the hunting knife she kept stored there. If this thing was going to come after her, she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Thankfully, it didn't.

She heard a tired sigh.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, Grover," it was Mr. Brunner. His voice sounded close, and Seph shrunk into the shadows as a large body walked past her. "I've been on edge since the winter solstice."

She saw the creature (as that was the only name she could think of) pluck the arrow from the corkboard before heading back down the hallway. Seph made sure to stay absolutely still, seeing that the creature still had the bow clutched in one hand.

"It's alright," she heard Grover say tensely, if not in slight annoyance. In any other situation, Seph would have snickered. She knew that Grover hated surprises.

"You better get some sleep," Mr. Brunner said. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Thanks for the reminder," Grover mumbled under his breath.

She saw the light disappear. Seph waited tensely in the dark, just waiting for the creature to come back and discover her. After a few minutes, she finally let go of the knife. She looked around the corner to make sure no one was in the hall before practically running to the stairwell. A few minutes later she was unlocking the door to her room. She let herself drift back to the conversation.

Mr. Brunner and Grover had been worried about something, something about her. They thought she was in danger.

"Danger from what?" she whispered in frustration. Whatever that thing was in the hall? Horny teenage boys? What?

Seph glanced at the new clock on her nightstand. The blue letters glowed back that it was nearly midnight. Letting out a sigh the fourteen-year old shook off her boots and lied down on the bed. She was tired, and like Grover, she had a long day of exams to look forward to. She'd figure this all out in the morning, but for now, she just wanted to sleep.

* * *

Seph winced as she flexed her hand.

_'Three hours. How can they come up with enough questions that would take three hours to answer?'_ she thought, grabbing her bag and heading towards the door. She began running math equations through her head when Mr. Brunner asked for her to come back.

A voice whispered in her head that he had found out about her late night visit, but that wasn't the case.

"Seph," he said. "I am sorry that you will not be returning next year. It was a joy to teach you."

Seph knew it was not said in unkindness, but she felt anger flash within her. He was whispering, but she knew other kids could hear them. Ashley York gave her a sickly sweet smile before tittering to the friend beside her. Seph glared at her and wished with all her heart that she could have flipped her off without Brunner seeing.

She muttered, "Whatever."

"I mean . . ." Mr. Brunner wrung his hands in his lap, not looking her in the eye. Seph wasn't used to him being this timid. "You shouldn't be here. Somewhere else would be better suited for you."

Seph bit the inside of her cheek, hard.

One of her most favorite teachers was confirming that she was an outcast. That she hadn't been enough for the prestigious Yancy Academy and was surely to be kicked out. Mr. Arnez had sobbed for the whole test period about how he was losing his most creative and devious student. It had been a warm, heartfelt moment.

"Right," she said, lips tightening and fists clenching. She let anger replace any sadness.

"No, no, no," Mr. Brunner said, sensing her change in mood, brown eyes widening in panic. "Oh, I can't believe I'm fumbling over this. I'm trying to say that you're oddly unique and-"

"Gee, thanks," she snapped in a harsh tone. "Nice to know everyone here thinks I'm such a fuck-up."

"Seph-"

But he was talking to her back.

* * *

It was the last day of term, and Seph happily packed away her things. She put any of few her electronics or spare candy and wallet into her messenger bag.

She was dressed in all black. Black Disturbed tank top, black jeans with a chain hanging from the pocket, and her ever permanent combat boots.

She got out to the school yard and she saw some of her more frequent customers there. They were all laughing with each other, bragging about where their families were going on vacation that year. Where they talked about sounded like Narnia to Seph, but to them it was like going to the park. Most of Yancy was filled with little delinquents and future tabloid headers, but unlike her, they were _rich_ little delinquents and future tabloid headers. They had mommies and daddies who were executives, or celebrities, or high up in the law. She was practically dirt underneath their five-hundred dollar shoes.

As she gave them their last orders, they asked her what she'd be doing this summer and she told them she was staying in the city.

What she didn't tell them was that she'd been staying in the city with her mom and stepfather. Her mom who would be working more than half the time to make ends meet, and her stepfather would be too busy hosting his poker parties to give a rat's ass about her. At least until he got drunk.

"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."

They must have thought not going anywhere was sad because instead of the three-fifty that all six boys were supposed to give her, she wound up with a solid thousand, all in hundreds. That along with the money she had saved up for something big to buy, she had a total of eight thousand nine hundred fifty-three dollars and eighty-two cents.

It had paid having customers who didn't know that their alleged sixty-dollar game was actually twenty at GameStop. Plus with that party she planned, she'd made a bundle this year.

After her payment, they went back to their conversations, completely ignoring that she was there. Seph didn't care.

The only person she didn't want to say good-bye to was Grover, but to her surprise, that wasn't the case.

Seph glanced up from the random doodle she'd been drawing on her arm and saw Grover looking up-and-down the bus aisles yet again. It was a habit of his, she had noticed early on in their friendship. Even if he was a bit too timid, she had to hand it to Grover for being observant. If the angry little girl two rows before them pulled a Betsy Wetsy out on the bus occupants, she hoped he would warn her to duck and cover.

A mischievous feeling overcame Seph and she leaned over to whisper in Grover's ear, "That bald dude up front might be a Kindly One, don't you think?"

Grover jumped sky-high, making the bus driver give them an odd look through the rearview mirror.

"What did you say?" he whisper-yelped.

Seph rolled her eyes before reluctantly admitting to the Nancy Drew move she pulled the night before exams.

Grover was twitching like a Chihuahua. "What exactly did you hear?

"Oh a little of this, a little of that," Seph looked at her fingernails nonchalantly, the way most females do when they know something. "So what's this summer solstice deadline?"

The boy shifted uncomfortably. "Seph . . . I'm worried for you, you know? Fantasizing about Satanic teachers . . ."

"Grover-"

"I tried telling Mr. Brunner that it was probably because of all the video games you play and your ADHD, because there isn't a Mrs. Dodds, and . . ."

With a blank face, she said, "Grover, sweetheart, you're a horrific liar."

Her friend's whole face flushed a deep pink.

He fumbled with his jean pocket before finally pulling out a plain white business card. "Will you take this? It will make me feel better and maybe if you want to talk . . ."

Seph took one look at the writing before letting out a string of curses, smacking Grover upside the head while she was at it. "Ugh Grover, you little bastard. You know I'm dyslexic."

Grover rubbed the back of his head as he grumbled out an apology. Why did she have to hit so damn hard?

It took a few minutes, but she finally made out:

_Grover Underwood  
Keeper_

Half-Blood Hill

_Long Island, New York  
(800) 009-0009_

Seph blinked in confusion. "What the hell is-"

"Don't say the name," her friend said quickly. Neither noticed how the other bus occupants had left about five rows empty between themselves and the two teens during their conversation. "It's my summer address."_  
_  
_'So Grover's a rich brat too,'_ she mentally sighed. _'So much for us being one in the same.'_

"You better have a badass game room in you mansion," she muttered under her breath. "And to think I didn't charge you when I'd give you some imported candy. . ."

Grover nodded, relieved that his friend had gone in that direction. "Yeah, we can play the new Grand Theft Auto. But it's really so you can call me if you needed me."

"And I would need you why?"

It sounded bitchy to Seph and she muttered a quiet apology.

Grover squirmed in his seat before looking into her pretty green eyes. "Seph, you're the best friend I ever had. I love you like a sister," a determined look grew in his eyes. "And I'll be damned if I won't be there to protect you."

Seph lifted an eyebrow.

If there was one thing people had established in their friendship, it was that Seph protected Grover. Not the other way around. The one getting punished by the dean- for breaking and/or bruising some part of someone's body- was Seph. But here was Grover, trying to act like the mighty little brother. She didn't know whether to feel annoyed or amused.

"Uh huh," she decided to bite. "And what exactly is it my little Grover is trying to protect me from?"

It was then that the bus decided to make things harder. A sound that reminded Seph of Grover's stomach on Enchilada day echoed throughout the bus. Thick black smoke started filling the front and the sickening smell of rotten eggs came through.

"That shit stinks," she hissed, covering her nose with her sleeve. Grover seemed to agree and did the same thing as the driver pulled the Greyhound to the side of the highway.

It was a few minutes later after some clumsy looks at the engine compartment the driver cheerfully announced they would have to get off. Some people dressed in expensive looking clothes groaned at that, not wanting to be late for their meetings and not wanting to melt outside. Seph and Grover shoved their way out.

"Stupid people not waiting for their turn to get off," Seph grouched under her breath after as someone knocked into her from behind. "Impatient assholes."

The two teens finally got off. Seph raised a hand to shield her eyes from the blaring sun. They had broken down in a relatively traffic-less road. At least the maple trees provided some form of shade. She looked across the highway and saw a fruit stand. It was common for her to see them in Manhattan, but she was surprised that there was one way out there in the middle of nowhere.

She casually took out her camera, snapping a picture of the fruit stand and the beautiful nature behind it. The stuff for sale was making her mouth water: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. But what was really odd was the three older ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the Guinness Book of World Records-sized socks.

The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.

All three women had that classic 'aging with grace' that was so hard to manage, with pale faces that held soft wrinkles, silver hair cut in a short style that oddly reminded Seph of Jamie Lee Curtis. They kind of dressed like her too . . .

What was really creeping her out was that they were looking right at her with their pale silvery eyes.

She glanced at Grover, feeling cautious about taking her eyes away from the staring contest with the older women. She had a feeling there was a gun hidden somewhere in that knitting basket. Grover was pale, she noticed, too pale for normal. His nose was twitching, like a dog's did when it picked up a scent.

"Gro?" Seph asked through the corner of her mouth. "Hon, are you okay-"

"Are they looking at you?"

"That's what I was just thinking about." She continued to eye the three women. "Grover, if you see them reach for the basket, duck and weave. It can't be coincidental that those socks are the size of body bags."

"That's not funny, Seph. Not at all."

Seph was wrong. Instead of a gun, the Jamie Lee look-alike in the middle took out a large pair of scissors- gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. They were starting to remind Seph of something, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Beside her, Grover stopped breathing.

"Get on the bus," he told her.

"What?" Seph asked in confusion. She was a little annoyed with Grover's trying to boss her around. "Grover, it's hotter in there than it is out here."

"Will you just listen to me for once?" He was trying to pry open the door, so Seph stayed back. The more she eyed the ladies, the more she was considering buying some cider, now that she knew they didn't have a gun to shoot her with.

Across the road, the old ladies were still watching Seph. Atropos smiled a little as she looked at the daughter of Poseidon. She would be entertaining, that much she knew from her two sisters, Clotho and Lachesis. But first thing was first. She needed to get rid of a little hindrance. She cut the yarn, and the fourteen-year old felt a shiver go up her spine. She saw the one in the middle give her a wink as the other two rolled up the socks.

"Body bags," Seph mumbled. "They're definitely body bags."

Back at the bus, the driver let out a whoop as the engine started up again.

The passengers cheered.

"Hell yes!" yelled the driver. He gave the bus a loving pat. "That a girl, Betty! Everyone get in."

It was once they started up again did Seph start feeling weird. For a moment she was worried that she had her period, but she didn't feel any cramps. That would have been embarrassing. She felt sick, nauseated, like she was ready to hurl at any moment.

Grover looked worse for wear. His skin was paler than a ghost, and he was shivering like he was cold.

"Grover?" Seph looked at him. She noticed how his hands were shaking.

"Yeah?"

"You're hiding something from me."

He put his arms around himself. "You saw something back at the fruit stand."

"Yeah, those old ladies freaked me the fuck out. You got that vibe too? Wait . . . are they like Mrs. Dodds?"

His expression was made of stone, something Seph wasn't used to, but she got the unsaid message that the old women were much worse than Mrs. Dodds ever was. He said, "What did you see?"

"I'm not too sure," Seph admitted. "It looked like she just cut the cord

He said, "So you saw her cut it?"

"Yes," she said slowly. Internally, she knew that something big was happening.

"No," Grover whispered. His pupils were blown, and he looked as if someone had just killed his puppy. "Not again."

"What?"

"They never reach sixteen."

"Grover, are you okay, hon?" Seph asked, because he was really starting to freak her out. "Is something wrong?"

"I need to walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."

Seph wanted to snap that she wasn't some fragile little girl, but she let out a reluctant promise.

"Grover, be honest with me. Is this some kind of cult or something?"

No answer. Seph felt a bad feeling settle in her chest, and she felt it magnify when she realized where she recognized the three ladies from.

"Grover is someone going to die?"

His eyes watered, but he stayed silent as he gripped her hand tightly.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O  
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

AN: Reviews are more than welcomed :)


	3. All Summer Long (With A Goat)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series or any songs, names, or places that belong to anyone else.

AN: You know you have an awesome younger cousin when he demands you to put on Metallica instead of the latest Justin Bieber song :)

Title: Waiting For the End

Main Pairings: Percy/Apollo, Percy/Hermes, Percy/Ares, Percy/Dionysus, Percy/Hephaestus, Percy/Luke

Other Pairings: Silena/Beckendorf, Annabeth/?, Grover/Juniper, Clarisse/Chris, Zeus/Hera, Poseidon/Athena, Thalia/Nico, Hades/Persephone

Warnings: Language, violence, sexual themes. Set in pre-Lightening Thief all the way to my versions of the Heroes of Olympus, some Hera and Aphrodite and stereotype bashing. Fem! Percy. Powerful! Percy. Demi-titan! Sally.  
**  
**_**Chapter 3: All Summer Long (With a Goat)**__  
_  
"Miss, we're here," the gruff voice said from upfront. "That'll be fourteen-fifty."

Seph blinked her eyes open, not believing that they were there already. She stretched her arms for a second before digging into her bag, being careful to not let the cabbie see the money she was packing in there. She pulled out a twenty and handed it to him, thanking him when he returned her change.

As she stepped out of the cab, she couldn't help the small smile that lit up her beautiful face. She was back. She was back at her apartment, the apartment that housed her mother. Her kind, unlucky mother.

Yes her mother was very unlucky in life. While beautiful and fair, she had been struck with tragedy at a young age. Her grandmother, Laura Jackson, had died when her mom was a young age of five. Then her guardian, her uncle Richard, had gotten cancer when she was in her senior year of high school, forcing her to drop out. At seventeen, her mom had nothing.

Then Seph's father came into the picture.

The fourteen-year old wasn't one of those kids who believed their parents had been tragically separated. She knew that it had been a brief relationship, that she herself was an accident, but she never thought anything less of her mother. Seph never said anything, but she had a hunch that her father had already been married when he met her mother.

Never once did she ask where he was. Seph just said good riddance.

But even without financial help, her mom pulled through at the young age of nineteen and with a newborn weighing her down. It amazed Seph how her mom never tried blaming her for how her life was. In fact, her mom was constantly telling her how she was the best thing to ever happen to her.

Then the worst happened. Gabe Ugliano was Seph's personal nightmare and she swore that he was Satan in disguise. When she was around three, Seph had nicknamed him Smelly Gabe due to the permanent scent of burning tires that he let off, but as she got older and learned curse words, she changed it to Jackass Gabe. It would have been Motherfucker Gabe, but, well . . . she _really_ didn't want those images in her head.

Five minutes after the cab left, Seph was walking into the small apartment that she had called her home since she was five. Sadly for her, she was about an hour shy of her mom getting home from work. What greeted her instead was her stepfather cursing in the living room.

_'He must be really losing today,'_ she thought, lip curling as she stepped over an empty beer can. If all the cans on the ground were his, Seph would have been surprised if he could see his hand in front of his face, much less play cards.

She strolled into the dining room, or as she had taken to calling it, Gabe's Poker Hall. The bastard himself was there, eyes firmly focused on his cards. Surrounding him was his three frequent poker buddies. Taking a deep breath (and almost choking from the cigar smoke in the air) Seph walked into the kitchen.

Gabe glanced up as his stepdaughter passed by him, eyes immediately roaming up and down her body.

"You're home, huh?" he said, not slurring in the slightest.

Seph calmly opened the fridge, staying silent as she pulled out a can of coke. Only after she took a sip did she bother to answer. "Yes."

Gabe grunted and made his bet. Seph looked around the kitchen, frowning when she realized how untidy it was. She wasn't a neat freak, but she knew that because her mom was working so much that she'd be the one stuck cleaning up after Gabe.

"Toss me a beer while you're over there, would'ja beautiful?" one of Gabe's friends asked, tossing her a flirtatious wink at the end. Seph scowled at him, outright ready to refuse when Gabe spoke up.

"Yeah, grab me one too," he scratched his chin. "And come take a seat. We need five for a good game of Texas Hold-Em."

Seph bristled, sea colored eyes flashing dangerously. She was missing Yancy more and more with each word that came out of Gabe's mouth. She grabbed two cold cans out of the fridge and practically slammed them down on the table in front of them. Gabe gave her a warning glare, but two of the friends laughed. One even went as far to call her a spitfire, punctuating that sentence with a firm slap to her behind before she sat down.

"Jeff, come on. She's fourteen, man," the building supervisor, Eddie, complained. He was the only one out of Gabe's friends that she liked. Ever since they had met each other when she was two, they had a soft spot for each other. Both knew exactly how obnoxious Gabe could be, and the super tried to be nice to her when he could.

"Don't worry about it Eddie," Gabe flicked a chip in. "That girl could use a good smack every now and then."

Seph wished with all of her might that she could get away with murder. The cards were dealt out and soon they were all wrapped up in the game. About an hour later, Seph had managed to win another couple thousand dollars from the men in the room as well as Gabe's Camaro, after he had run out of money to bet. As she collected her winnings the door to the tiny apartment opened.

"Gabe? Is Sephy home yet?"

Seph quickly pocketed the money before sprinting to the doorway where she knew her favorite person in the world would be.

"Mom!" she said, happily diving into her mother's loving arms. Sally laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm and hugged the black-haired teen back eagerly. After a few seconds, Sally held her back at arm's length.

"Oh, Sephy, look at you," her mother whispered sweetly. "You look beautiful, honey."

Now Seph was proud to say that she wasn't one of those girls that needed constant reassurance that she was pretty, but when her mother said so, she couldn't help but feel a little bashful. The teen grinned and hugged her mother again, only breaking away from her when Gabe yelled, "Yeah, yeah. Kiss-kiss, hug-hug, now let's get back to the game. I want my car back."

Seph gave the man a fierce glare. It was one thing when he bossed her around in front of his friends, but when it was in front of her mother it was another thing. Sally cocked an eyebrow at her daughter.

"You've been gambling?" she mumbled, the disapproval in her voice easily detected by the green-eyed teen. Seph smiled innocently. Sally shook her head, though her shoulders quaked with laughter. She held up a plain brown bag with a red-blue-and-white _Sweet on America _stamp on the front. "Let's go murder these in your room."

The teen agreed, not paying attention to Gabe's calls for her to play another round as she obediently followed her mother. They sat on Seph's bed and chatted lightly about how school was going and how much they missed each other. Seph grunted as she pulled on a blueberry sour string with her teeth. Sally asked her daughter every question imaginable, trying to catch up for the months she hadn't been able to spend with her.

Now most teenagers would be annoyed by their mother's questioning, but Seph didn't mind. She wasn't a very emotional person, but the green-eyed girl didn't feel anything short of happiness when she was with her mom. She guessed growing up with one parent did that to you.

"I just can't get over how beautiful and grown up you look," Sally squeezed her daughter's shoulders tightly. She could hardly believe this gorgeous girl in front of her was her baby. She could still remember the cute little green-eyed three-year old that would cling to her legs when she met someone new.

"Mom," Seph groaned.

"Sephy," Sally imitated her daughter's tone.

Both gave each other looks before bursting out in laughter, the older woman hugging the girl close to her.

"One of you, come make something to eat!" Gabe called.

Sally noted how the teen stiffened in her arms, small but strong muscles coiling like a snake before it strikes. She heard the growl that began to bubble in the girl's chest, saw the anger that entered green jewels. Gabe was on a thin line.

"Merissa called two days ago," she tried distracting her daughter.

Her ploy worked. The dangerous storm trapped in Seph's eyes changed into radiant joy.

"What did she say?" Seph asked excitedly. She hadn't seen her aunt since her twelfth birthday, two and a half years ago. She began bouncing her knees in barely contained eagerness.

Sally giggled. "She wants to take us to Montauk for a few days."

"When?"

"She said she'd be here by two today."

Seph's eyes widened. While she did not particularly care for Montauk, she wasn't about to pass up the chance to spend time with her two most favorite people in the world. She took a brief glance at the alarm clock. It was five till one, so they had just a bit over an hour to kill. Sally could have laughed as Seph began bouncing her knees in anticipation.

The happy moment was killed by Gabe stomping into the room.

"One of you get your asses in the kitchen and make something to eat!" he snarled at them.

Seph glared at the ugly man, more than ready to face juvie if it meant putting him in a permanent coma, but she knew it would upset her mother.

"I was heading in there, sweetie," Sally said calmly. "I was telling Sephy about Merissa's trip."

Gabe scowled at the name. He did not like that shrimp of a woman. She was almost as freaky as his bastard stepdaughter.

"What trip?" he asked. "I don't want that freak coming around here."

Seph nearly attacked him. No one called her aunt a freak. The only thing stopping her was her mother's hand on her arm.

"Sephy hasn't seen Merissa in almost three years," Sally said. "She said she'll pay for everything."

Gabe hardly budged. "Well who's gonna cook while you two are gone, huh? I ain't eating no take-out crap."

"I wasn't planning on it," Sally countered with ease. "I'll make your favorite seven-layer dip and some buffalo wings to last until we get back."

Seph saw Gabe falter and threw in, "And I'll make my Game Day nachos. You know the ones with the black olives?"

He caved instantly, but of course had to have the last word. "Make the brat give me my Camaro back."

The teen bristled instantly. She had won that car fair and square, but her mother looked so pleading. With a quiet huff, she practically through the keys at Gabe.

"Stupid little bastard," he grumbled, waddling out the door.

Seph made a face at his back, making her mom scold her, but you could see the amusement in her eyes.

"The sooner we make his food, the sooner we can go," Sally said softly.

They left the tiny bedroom and went to the kitchen, conversing quietly as the men continued playing poker.

* * *

Seph groaned as she finished dragging her mother's bag down (yet another) flight of stairs. It wasn't so much that it was heavy, but the fact that they lived on the eighth floor. And of course the elevator decided to break down that day, so she was stuck trying not to slip as she carried down the suitcase. Thankfully, there was only one more flight of stairs to climb before she could use the wheels.

The sixteen steps were more like mountains to the teen, but she finally reached the flat ground. She wheeled the suitcase outside to the sidewalk, intending to sit on the bench in front of the apartment building. Seph leaned the suitcase against the arm rest before kicking her feet up on the bench, her messenger bag resting in her lap.

She let her eyes drift shut, appreciating the cool breeze that briefly chased away the blazing heat.

The momentary peace didn't last as the sound of screeching tires and car horns blaring rang through the streets. Seph opened her eyes and looked curiously down the street, just in time to see a midnight blue Ferrari FF round the corner at a hundred miles an hour. She couldn't but admire the sleek build of the sports car (You didn't see those often in this part of town) and was more than a bit surprised when it pulled to a stop in front of her.

The driver's side door opened and a short figure stepped out. Seph immediately knew who it was.

"Aunt Merissa!"

The fourteen-year old jumped up from the bench and ran towards the woman. They hugged each other tightly, having not seen each other in so long.

"Hey squirt," Merissa smirked at her honorary niece.

Looking like she was in her early twenties, Merissa had long white-blonde hair with blue eyes and barely stood at 5'1. Like Seph, she tended to wear punkish clothes. Today's outfit consisted of a dark blue shirt with a leather jacket over it, blue shorts with fishnets, and black combat boots. She was the coolest person in the world to the green-eyed teen.

"I'm not a squirt Auntie," Seph snorted, looking down at the shorter female for emphasis.

Merissa scoffed and gently swatted the teen's head. "Just because you're a few inches taller than me doesn't mean you get to be a smartass."

Seph snickered and let go of her aunt. "I can't believe you're coming with us. I haven't seen you or the beach in forever."

The blonde winced. "About that . . . my boss called me a couple of hours ago. I need to head out to Los Angeles by eight."

The teen's face dropped. She had been looking forward to spending time with her other most favorite person in the world. Merissa noticed the face she made and her heart melted.

"It'll only be for tonight," she tried cheering her up. "After that, I'm all yours for the next three days."

The green-eyed girl perked up again just as her mother exited the building, Gabe trailing a little ways behind her.

"Merissa," Sally smiled warmly at the other woman.

"Hey Sally," The blonde said back in a friendly way. She looked over to Gabe. "Asswipe."

"Freak," the pig-man growled back.

Seph closed the trunk lid a bit too hard, but she didn't say a word to her stepfather. She had all summer to torture him and this weekend provided excellent plotting time. Her aunt of course would be more than happy to suggest ideas.

"Say do you wanna drive, kiddo?" Merissa asked suddenly. "Your mama told me you got your permit."

The fourteen-year old's eyes lit up, but her mother shot the idea down.

"I don't want her driving on the freeway until she's sixteen," Sally said.

"Killjoy," Merissa said playfully. "Looks like you get the backseat, squirt."

Seph didn't mind and she happily climbed into the Ferrari. Her mom slid into the front seat as her aunt rounded to the driver's side. All of them got buckled in and Merissa looked at her niece through the rearview mirror. A devilish twinkle entered sky blue eyes and the blonde put the car into reverse.

Dogs barked, people stopped walking to cover their ears, and a bird ran into a billboard as the most god awful sound rang through the streets.

Seph head swiveled around, wondering what the hell had happened, only to laugh disbelievingly when she saw that Gabe's Camaro now had a long scratch going down the side.

"Oops. Sorry about that," Merissa said innocently. She rolled down Sally's window to look at the purple-faced Gabe. "Send me a bill, Asswipe."

Then she shifted the car into drive and sped off down the street, Gabe's screaming figure left behind them in the dust.

"That wasn't a nice thing to do, Merissa," Sally tried to sound disapproving, but the little giggles she let out every now and again ruined the image.

"Eh, don't worry Sally. He knows I'm a bitch," The blonde winked at Seph through the rearview. "Now how about some tunes?"

* * *

"Shoot to thrill, play to kill! Too many women, too many pills yeah," Seph sang.

"Shoot to thrill, play to kill. I got my gun at the ready gonna fire at will," Merissa joined in, drumming her hands on the wheel.

"Cause I shoot to thrill and I'm ready to kill! I can't get enough and I can't get my fill," they chorused. "Shoot to thrill, play to kill-"

"Pull the trigger!" Sally finished.

All three women busted out laughing at the off-key singing as they sped down the freeway.

An hour later, they had arrived at the beach. Merissa hugged them both good-bye before climbing into the taxi cab. She was leaving them the Ferrari in case they wanted to go to the grocery store or something.

The mother-daughter pair watched the taxi grow smaller and smaller until they couldn't even see it anymore. Sally sighed a little before smiling at her daughter.

"Well, no use standing here," she said. "Let's go unpack."

The cabin was just as Seph remembered it. Half-sunk, sandy, and every corner was claimed by a spider. It was awesome.

Her mom shared the same sentiments. Relaxation practically oozed from her pores, her face looking almost tiredly calm. The green-eyed girl knew that this was her mom's favorite place in the world, the only place where she could truly let her hair down.

"Last one to the cabin has to clean the spider webs!" Sally said. She took off before Seph could get a word out.

The teen stood there for a second in shock before a wide smile overcame her face. She snatched the bag up before hauling ass towards their cabin. She ended up winning, but she still cleaned the spider webs for her mother.

They finished cleaning the cozy little cabin and strolled on the beach, laughing as the waves brushed against their bare feet. Currently, the mother-daughter pair were demolishing their hot dog and marshmallow supplies.

"-And the girl would finally prove that she deserves the throne in the end," Sally finished her story idea. She looked at her daughter curiously. "What do you think about it?"

Seph gave her mom a smile. "You're going to be the next J.K Rowling one day, Mom."

Sally blushed slightly at the compliment and giggled in return.

Their conversation continued on until finally reaching Seph's most hated topic.

"He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen," Sally stated wistfully, not noticing the dark look on her daughter's face. "At least six-foot-three, well-muscled but slim like a swimmer, and he had the cutest dimples in the world."

Seph watched the flames with a blank expression, trying her hardest to tune her mother out. She didn't want to hear about her father at all. She could go on for the rest of her life without knowing a damn thing about him. But she let her mother speak, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

"He was very gentle with everything he came across, even with the power he carried," Sally continued on. "I see so much of him in you, Sephy. You have the same silky black hair and those pretty green eyes. Not to mention the stubborn personalities."

A hand unconsciously ran itself through for mentioned black hair. Bitterness crept into the teen's heart. She didn't like being compared to her father. She wanted none of his traits, whether they were physical or personality wise.

"Has he ever seen me?" The teen asked before she could stop herself.

Sally's expression saddened.

"No sweetie, he hasn't. He had to go away before you were born," the brunette said softly. She cracked a small smile. "You know, he would always tell me how much he wanted a daughter, a little girl to spoil and treat like a princess. He would have adored you."

It was only respect for her mother that kept Seph from snorting. Why would this apparently fantastic man love her? She was every teacher's scariest nightmare and her temper was worse than a volcano about to erupt. She wasn't exactly the 'princess' type.

"Yeah, sure," she mumbled under her breath. "So where am I going to school next? I've been kicked out of pretty much every private school in the greater Manhattan area and you don't want to send me to public school."

Sally didn't say anything for a few minutes. "I've been considering Saint Catherine's in Pennsylvania for a while now."

Seph blinked, not expecting that at all.

"Pennsylvania?" she asked. "Why Pennsylvania? I mean, Aunt Merissa has been offering to watch over me for years now. Why can't I go live with her if you're going to send me out of state?"

The brunette squirmed underneath her daughter's questioning stare.

"It's not that simple, sweetie," she said. "You can never go to Los Angeles, even if your aunt is with you. It would be disastrous."

"What do you mean by that?" Seph asked in frustration.

Merissa had practically been begging for them to come live with her since Seph was six. She had promised the best of schools for Seph, or even private tutors if they so wanted. Sally could stay at home and write all day if she so desired, but the blonde's offer was numerously shot down much to the teen's disbelievement.

Why did her mother want to stay in New York so bad? It couldn't have been for Jackass Gabe, that was for sure, so what was the reason?

Sally closed her eyes, a sad smile playing on her beautiful face.

"You are very important in this world, baby. You are so special, yet you never seem to realize how much. Or how much danger that specialness is."

Seph cocked her head to the side, wondering where she had heard those words before. Then it hit her.

_One day when she was seven, Sephy had been sitting on the punishment wall at recess after getting in trouble for throwing paint at Nina Andrews._

_So there she was, sitting with her head resting on her knees and looking up at the sky as planes soared overhead. Sephy wished she had wings to fly away. She would never have to see Smelly Gabe again, but that would also mean leaving her mama behind. She could never do that to her mama._

_"Why so glum, chum?" A voice asked softly._

_Sephy jumped in surprise before whirling her little head around to see who had managed to sneak up on her._

_It was a teenage boy, a very pretty teenage boy. The seven-year old cocked her head to the side as she examined him._

_The boy was easily the tallest person Sephy had ever met, even beating out Terry Kline's dad. He had very pale skin, like hers, with dark chocolate brown hair and bright electric blue eyes. He was what her aunt 'Rissy would call 'hot'._

_"Who're you?" she asked rudely, eyes narrowing into a suspicious glare. The boy didn't seem to mind as he gave her a radiant smile._

_"My name isn't important," he said._

_"Are you one of those pee-dough-flies that my Mama warns me about?" Sephy asked, ready to bolt at a moments notice._

_A thick dark eyebrow twitched and the boy's smile became forced. "You're just full of questions, aren't you? No, I am not a pedophile. I just noticed you sitting here all by yourself instead of playing with the other kids."_

_Sephy looked at him warily for a moment. "This is the punishment wall. I got in trouble for throwing paint at Tattletale Nina."_

_The boy raised an eyebrow. "And why did you throw paint at her?"_

_The seven-year old scowled and folded her arms over her flat chest. "She called me stupid because I couldn't spell flavor during our spelling bee."_

_"Ahh," the boy nodded in understanding. "That was mean of her. Not everyone learns at the same pace."_

_"Exactly!" Sephy cried, happy that someone was siding with her. "Mama says I don't learn as well as others because I have de-lexia, but I learn fighting moves really fast."_

_"Really?" the boy's lips twitched into a smile. The little girl nodded enthusiatically, all traces of suspicion gone now as she showed him a complex series of jabs of punches and kicks she saw on an MMA fight._

_"You're good," he admitted, surprised that she could move that quickly. "You're very good."_

_Sephy smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Thanks, you're the only one who thinks so. The teachers don't like when I do stuff like that. They don't like how weird I am compared to the other kids. Smelly Gabe says that that's the reason why I don't have a daddy."_

_She looked down at her shoes and the boy frowned deeply._

_"Hey," he said softly, raising a hand so he could lift her chin gently._

_Sephy didn't look him in the eyes, afraid that he could see the tears in hers._

_"You are a very special little girl, kid," he said in a somber voice. "You have no idea how special you are now, but you will in the future. I promise."_

She had never seen him again after that day. It was then and there that she learned not to trust a person's word just because they promised. She was childish back then, naïve. She wasn't going to let anyone get her hopes up like that just to let it crash and burn later.

"Mom, I'm not special. I'm weird. Abnormal." Seph said bitterly.

"But you're good abnormal," Sally tried reasoning with her. "That's one of the best things about you, Sephy. I don't want some fashion and boy-crazed daughter, I want my fist-fighting temperamental baby. But that aside, I need you to be safe."

"I can protect myself, Mom," Seph said reassuringly. "You don't have to worry."

"But I do worry, sweetie," Sally said. "I want to keep you close to me, but that time seems to be coming to a close. I . . . I may have to send you to where your father wanted you to go. I really don't want to, but I will if there is no other choice."

Seph felt her eyes widened.

"My-my father?" she asked incredulously. "What's that supposed to mean 'Your father wanted you to go'? I doubt that he thought so far ahead if he couldn't even stay long enough to see me be born."

"Sweetie, this isn't the time to get angry," Sally tried calming her down. "We can talk about this later."

Seph stared at her mother for a moment, the sea itself brewing in her green depths before she nodded once. She stood up. "Alright then. I'm going to head back to cabin, Mom. Love you."

Sally watched her daughter walk away from her, her mint-colored eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm sorry, Sephy," she whispered. "I wish this wasn't happening."

* * *

Seph gasped as she woke up from her dream, a loud clap of thunder making her jump slightly. She groaned quietly so she wouldn't wake her mother. She was never going to get back to sleep with the rain pelting the cabin like that.

She stretched her arms above her head, her plain white tank top rising to show her flat stomach. Her black shorts had rode up on her legs during the night. She must've been thrashing around in her sleep.

Another loud crash of thunder had her mom rubbing at her eyes tiredly.

"It's just bad weather," Sally yawned, even though her eyes were looking out the window nervously. "Go back to sleep."

Normally she would have been happy to comply, but she was feelng edgy. That dream had been so weird and the storm was doing absolutely nothing to help ease her mind.

"I think I'll stay awake for a minute," the teen said.

Sally opened her mouth, but Seph wasn't paying attention. There was an odd noise coming from outside and someone started screaming as they pounded their fist on the door. Seph reached for her knife, ready to defend her mother from the unknown psycho when to her surprise, her mother got out of bed to open the door.

"Mom!" Seph hissed in confusion, scrambling off her own bed.

It turned out that she didn't need the knife. Grover was there with wide eyes full of fear. Seph didn't notice, all of her attention was on his lower end.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" he asked.

Her mother's head snapped over to her fast.

"Something happened, didn't it?" she asked. "Sephy, you should have told me."

The teen didn't look at either of them, her eyes still trained on her best friend's fuzzy hindquarters.

"Would you stop staring at me?" Grover yelled. "It's coming for us and we don't have much time!"

Sally look at her daughter sternly and said in a tone she'd never used before, "Persephone, _talk_."

Seph managed to get something out about Mrs. Dodds and the Jamie Lee look-alikes from the fruit stand. Her mother looked horrified at what she was saying, but quickly snapped out of. Sally grabbed her purse and tossed the keys to the Ferrari at her daughter.

"Go to the car, I'll be there in a minute," she said quickly.

The green-eyed girl found herself nodding dazedly and slipped on her Jack Skellington jacket before grabbing her messenger bag. Grover was pretty much trying to tug her arm out of its socket as he pulled her out of the cabin.

"Hurry!" Grover yelped, shuffle-running to the car.

Seph followed after him, not even caring that her clothes were already clinging to her from the harsh rain. She pressed the unlock button for the car and eagerly climbed in from the cool night air. She had just started the car when her mother came running to the driver's side door.

"I'll drive," Sally said, sliding into the seat when Seph climbed into the back with Grover.

With a change of the gear, they were speeding away.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O  
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

AN: Bit of a chopped ending *wince*. I had something better, but I stupidly forgot to save it.

I have a question for all of you, if I were to design a story website (like what some authors do on here) would you go onto it? It would basically give you information about my stories that won't be revealed on here. Let me know!

Oh and Merissa is not, repeat NOT an OC. She will play a significant role in Seph's life, but not as the person Seph thinks she is.

Reviews are more than welcomed!


	4. In My Time of Dying

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series or any songs, names, or places that belong to anyone else.

AN: You have absolutely no idea how sorry I am that this is late. I've been working nonstop at my job and then I got sick and things have just been a blur. I don't feel like this is my best work, but I wanted to get something out there before we hit month three with no update.

To those of you who guessed Merissa is Persephone, the answer is . . . no. Merissa is not Persephone in any way. Keep trying! I want to see if anyone can guess who she is before I reveal her.

Title: Waiting For the End

Main Pairings: Percy/Apollo, Percy/Hermes, Percy/Ares, Percy/Dionysus, Percy/Hephaestus, Percy/Luke

Other Pairings: Silena/Beckendorf, Annabeth/?, Grover/Juniper, Clarisse/Chris, Zeus/Hera, Poseidon/Sally, Hades/Persephone (goddess)

Warnings: Language, violence, sexual themes. Set in pre-Lightening Thief all the way to my versions of the Heroes of Olympus, some Hera and Aphrodite bashing. Fem! Percy. Powerful! Percy. Demi-titan! Sally.  
**  
**_**Chapter 4: In My Time of Dying**__  
_  
This was starting to get on her nerves.

They (her mother, Grover, and herself) had been driving in the car for twenty minutes and no one had said a word since they left Montauk. The only sounds that could be heard through the harsh rain and booming thunder was the windshield wipers and Grover's heavy breathing.

Seph let out a sigh and crossed her legs. Sick of the tense atmosphere, she pulled her knife out from her boot and began to pick at the dirt under her fingernails. Now how to get answers . . .

"We can do this two ways," she went for the direct approach. "Option one, you can just tell me what this is all about. Option two involves me staring at you, watching as you squirm in you're seat until you break. Your choice."

Grover winced. He knew that his friend would live up to her threat, but he also knew his orders were strict. If anyone at camp found out that he had told her before they arrived, he could kiss his license goodbye.

"The less you know the better . . ." he flinched back at the warning look. "Okay, okay, the truth is I've been keeping tabs on you since we've met."

A black brow rose. "Go on."

"When we first met, I knew there was something different about you," he continued. "You weren't like the other kids at Yancy. You were . . . special."

Seph snorted.

"Gee, I wonder how anyone could tell I was different," her voice was flowing with sarcasm. "How is it my fault those pricks from the Trust-Fund Babies club didn't give me a jacket?"

"You're taking this the wrong way," Grover was starting to sweat. This wasn't going the way he wanted. "Look, you have this air around you that I only see around a certain kind of person."

"Oh and what would that be?" Seph snapped. "Someone who belongs in an insane asylum. Sorry, but you were a bit slow on that one, Goat Boy. Pretty much everyone who meets me guesses that right off the bat!"

"Sephy!" Sally was shocked at her daughter's attitude. What had gotten into her? "That was not a nice thing to say. You need to apologize."

Seph bit back a growl- not just because she knew it wouldn't solve anything, but also out of respect for her mother. She felt betrayed by the male in the car. He had faked being her friend like so many before him had yet . . . yet this felt worse than the other times combined. Grover had wormed his way into her heart and the thought of him faking all of their time together pained her.

She risked a glance at him. Guilt beat out the anger when Seph saw the tears in his eyes, his nostrils flared in a failing effort to not cry. The betrayal vanished when she saw his chin wobble. In that moment, she felt five inches tall.

For the past nine months she had made an effort to protect him from the cruel people at Yancy, yet her she was, acting no better than the spoiled brats who teased him for being different.

"I'm sorry, Gro," it took some effort, but her tone was soft. "I know you didn't mean it like that. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

He didn't respond, but the tears dried up and his chin stilled. Exhaustion finally settled into the ravenette. Yawning, she went back to grooming her fingernails. What she wouldn't give for a couple minutes of shut-eye . . .

As if cued, an ear-shattering roar sounded behind them; the same one that had been going off at random intervals since they left Montauk. Each time they heard it, it got louder and louder, as if it were closing in on them. Her mother would flinch each time while Grover whimpered beside her. Something had them spooked and Seph wasn't too sure if she wanted to know why.

Sally made a sharp turn onto a gravel road. Rocks flew up behind them as the Ferrari sped into farmland.

"Can I at least ask where we are going?" the teen asked.

She caught her mother's eyes in the rearview. Terror shone in them, but underneath Seph could see uncertainty. It was the same look she got whenever her father was mentioned. A silent conversation passed between the two females.

"This is about my father, isn't it?" Seph asked.

"Yes," Sally didn't beat around the bush. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but please try to be understanding-"

Seph's face was void of any emotion. Of course her bastard father had something to do with this. All of the problems in her life seemed to trace its way back to him.

"I won't complain for now," she tried to keep her voice smooth. "I am by no means happy about this, but getting upset will solve nothing. I'll keep my mouth shut, but I want an answer when this is all over with."

Her mother's shoulders sagged (no doubt in relief) as the Ferrari became quiet once more.

Seph leaned back in her seat, arms crossed over her chest as she tried to see through the thick downpour.

There hadn't been much of a warning, only a blinding light and the teen felt like she had just got the hose turned on her. She was soaked to the bone, her head hurt and just the thought of opening her eyes made her want to groan. White noise played in her ears.

_'Is this what death feels like?'_ she wondered.

She returned to earth, the powerful crash of thunder bringing her back to the land of the living.

"Holy crap," Seph groaned. Her head felt like it was breaking open from the inside.

When she opened her eyes, everything was blurred and shapeless. From the cold against her cheek, she could tell her head had smacked against the window. After a few more seconds of disorient, she saw that they had run off the road and into a ditch. Droplets of water fell off her nose and when she looked up, there was a smoking hole in the roof of the car. Had they been hit by lightning?

"Mom?" she called over a crash of thunder.

"Sephy!" her mother sounded relieved. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

A sharp pain was throbbing Seph's neck, but other than that she felt fine. At least she hadn't accidentally sliced herself with her knife.

"I'm alright," she said. She heard mumbling beside her and saw that Grover was unconscious. he wasn't moving and for a split second Seph was scared he was dead, but then he started mumbling about food.

_'Leave it to Grover,'_ she thought.

"You need to get out of here," Sally said. "You don't have much time."

Seph didn't ask any questions and slid her knife into her boot before hauling Grover onto her back. "Alright, let's go."

"No, Sephy, leave Grover here," her mother said sternly. "I'll stay here with him. There's a tree up the-"

"What?" Seph spluttered.

"Sweetheart, listen to me. There's a pine tree at the top of that hill. When you get there, go down into the valley and don't stop running until you get the farmhouse. Help will be there."

"I am not leaving you here."

"Now is not the time to argue, Sephy. Run and don't stop until you reach the farmhouse. I'll take care of Grover."

The teen couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mother honestly expected her to just _leave_ them there? Whatever had been chasing them was closing in and she wasn't just going to run and leave her mother and best friend as first prize.

"I'm taking you both with me," Sally gave her a sad look. "No, mom! I am not leaving either of you. Climb out the side door, I've got Grover."

Her mother must of realized she wasn't going to budge in her decision, because she began to crawl over the console to the passenger side door. Within a few seconds, Seph was running up the hill with her mother, Grover's head bouncing on her shoulder with each step.

Out of sheer curiosity, Seph looked over her shoulder. It only took one glance for her to recognize what it was.

"That's the Mi-"

"It's Pasiphae's son," Sally quickly interrupted. "Don't say his name, Sephy. Names are powerful things."

Seph's mind was spinning. First Grover was a satyr and now she's dealing with the Bull Man? When exactly had she fallen into the Illiad and how the hell did she get out? Damn it, they were still a long way from the tree.

She looked at the horned monster again. He was by the Ferrari now, sniffing at it like a dog trying to catch a scent. He seemed to figure out that they weren't there and he let out a roar of fury. He picked the car up- their bags falling out of the trunk- before throwing into down the road. Then, like from a scene in a movie, the car exploded.

_'Aunt Merissa is not going to be happy.'_

"-charges jump to the side."

"What?"

Her mother's breathing was labored and Seph felt her own legs scream in protest as they continued to climb.

"When he charges at you, jump to the side," Sally repeated. "He isn't too good with changing directions."

Heavy footsteps sounded behind them. Seph didn't need to look to know that he was coming after them. With the heavily slick slope and the speed he was coming at, they would never make it to the top.

"Separate!" her mother said. She pulled Grover off her daughter's back before motioning her with a hand. "Go, Sephy!"

Another roar sounded through the rain as the bull-man closed in on them. The teen turned around and now that she was much closer, she could see just how ugly the beast was. He didn't seem to share the sentiments of examining, as he lowered his head and scraped his foot on the ground.

_'Wait for it,'_ her leg muscles tensed. _'Now!'_

Just a split second before he could grab her, Seph jumped off to the side. Her hair flew around her face as the monster raced past her.

The next time he attacked it wasn't at her. Her mother- who had been hiding Grover in the grass- was his next target. All Seph could do was watch as the monster charged at her mother, only this time her advice failed. He was not to be fooled a second time and he soon had his fist around her mother's neck.

Mint green met sea green. Sally smiled despite the pain and mouthed: "Go!"

And then she dissolved, literally dissolved in a shower of gold. The monster roared in victory of catching at least one victim and soon began sniffing the air for another.

Seph was frozen. Her mother . . . was gone. Her kind, innocent, would-never-hurt-a-fly mother had just been crushed like a bug in a child's fist.

Fury unlike any other she'd felt before flowed through her veins. Her heart craved bloodshed, a massacre, as red filled her vision. All that she could see was the thing that had killed her mother and her friend that he was now standing over.

The girl was so focused on her anger that she didn't even notice that the rain around her hover in the air, molding into a large blob. Leaning down, Seph picked up a rock and chucked it at the beast's head. It connected with the furred head with a _crack!_ and the bull-man looked over at her.

The smirk she gave him was dark. "Bring it, you son of a bitch."

Another bellow and he was coming towards her. Instead of running or ducking to the side, Seph ran towards him as well. The blob followed behind her, more and more rain joining in as she sprinted.

She was about five yards from him when she pretended to jump to the side. He fell into her trap as he spread his arms out wide to catch her. The monster had no time to react as Seph jumped into the air, her hand reaching for the gleaming ring in his nose. Using it as a momentum, she swung herself over his head (mindful of the horns) and threw all of her weight down to the ground.

_Rrrrip!_

A horrific screech filled the air, like nails on a chalkboard but deeper. He flung himself to the ground, large hands going towards his snout. Seph took this time to look at her prize; a brass ring with bloody nasal septum trapped where the ends meet.

The sound of water sloshing around her made the teen look over her shoulder. The body of water was steadily getting bigger as more rain came down.

The bull-man roared in pained rage. The teen faced him again and their eyes met. The monster scraped his foot again in warning.

Seph was beginning to feel drained from all the running and dodging, and she didn't know if she could throw herself over his head again. An idea came to her- a weird one, but she didn't have too many options left.

Steadying her breathing, she pictured the water behind her shaping into a giant spear of ice. She didn't have enough time to see if it had worked as the monster charged at her. Grabbing at the air behind her, her hand touched something cold and solid. Without thinking, she threw the object at the bull-man.

To her amazement, it had been the ice spear she had pictured. It sailed through the air, clear and sharp, before landing in the place Seph had been aiming for- right between the monster's eyes. Well, with the size of the spear it actually went through half of his face, but it still made contact.

Like with Mrs. Dodds, he turned into yellow dust, and blown away by some invisible fan.

Seph was exhausted, the second she had thrown the spear any energy had left with it. All she wanted to do was fall over like her limbs begged her to do, but she knew she had to wait a bit. Stumbling over to Grover, she hauled the unconscious boy onto her back before making her way to the farmhouse.

She kept her face blank and emotionless as she knocked on the screen door. Three people answered, a bearded man and two kids; a young girl with curly blond hair and a boy with sky blue eyes.

"Help him," Seph whispered.

Praying that her mother was right about this being a safe place, the teen finally let sleep claim her. The blond boy caught her before she hit the wood floor.

"Chiron?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the girl in his arms.

The man stroked his beard silently. "Take them to the medical tent. I'll tell Mr. D that they have arrived."

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O  
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

AN: Geez, this took forever to get out. Now I think I'm going to take a nap.

I have the next chapter written and I was hoping to get (at least) fifteen reviews within the next week. If I do, I'll post the fifth chapter on the Sea of Monsters release date.

Thanks for being so patient with me!


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